Saikat Chakrabarti

Yeah, sorry, Zephyr, you want to jump in?

Yeah, sorry, Zephyr, you want to jump in?

Well, yeah, you know, we have a huge housing shortage in California. I think the process that we use to build housing is crazy. Everyone knows it's not going to build enough housing. We'd have this process in San Francisco where you approve on a parcel-by-parcel method to decide which housing gets built. So that process is a big part of the problem.

Well, yeah, you know, we have a huge housing shortage in California. I think the process that we use to build housing is crazy. Everyone knows it's not going to build enough housing. We'd have this process in San Francisco where you approve on a parcel-by-parcel method to decide which housing gets built. So that process is a big part of the problem.

But I don't actually think it's just going to be a process that'll fix it because what we see is often financing is a problem. Mm-hmm. Like last year, a bunch of construction projects in San Francisco got stalled because interest rates went up. So construction loans got very expensive. And our current approach to that is throwing our hands up and saying, well, I guess that's too bad.

But I don't actually think it's just going to be a process that'll fix it because what we see is often financing is a problem. Mm-hmm. Like last year, a bunch of construction projects in San Francisco got stalled because interest rates went up. So construction loans got very expensive. And our current approach to that is throwing our hands up and saying, well, I guess that's too bad.

But it's why it's really key that we have public financing institutions to try to make sure this stuff moves along and keeps happening. We can't have just this one solution. There's going to be so many bottlenecks that come in the way. Even if we fix the financing, there might be something else that pops up, right?

But it's why it's really key that we have public financing institutions to try to make sure this stuff moves along and keeps happening. We can't have just this one solution. There's going to be so many bottlenecks that come in the way. Even if we fix the financing, there might be something else that pops up, right?

So it's this whole other mindset we really need to get into to try to figure out how to make sure the houses get built. Zephyr, what's your take on this?

So it's this whole other mindset we really need to get into to try to figure out how to make sure the houses get built. Zephyr, what's your take on this?

First off, you know, just in the San Francisco versus Texas example that we're talking about, I just want to make like one sort of point there. Because Austin, which is a city that people refer to a lot where they did a lot of streamlined permitting. Construction went up, rents went down, really good. But it wasn't actually enough. The 50% of Austin's population is still cost burdened by rent.

First off, you know, just in the San Francisco versus Texas example that we're talking about, I just want to make like one sort of point there. Because Austin, which is a city that people refer to a lot where they did a lot of streamlined permitting. Construction went up, rents went down, really good. But it wasn't actually enough. The 50% of Austin's population is still cost burdened by rent.

And now construction slowed down because part of the reason costs went down was a lot of people left Austin at that time. It started having net migration out of Austin. And so now what happens, right? I think there's another example of just doing the permitting streamlining isn't going to be a silver bullet. But when you're talking about costs, there's not one simple answer.

And now construction slowed down because part of the reason costs went down was a lot of people left Austin at that time. It started having net migration out of Austin. And so now what happens, right? I think there's another example of just doing the permitting streamlining isn't going to be a silver bullet. But when you're talking about costs, there's not one simple answer.

I think the optimism here that I have is you look at Europe, you know, Europe can build stuff way faster and way cheaper than us. They have a way more unionized labor force. And I think what I wish we had in America was, I wish we had large, you know, union bargaining deals in a sectoral way, the way many European countries do, and do this at a society way.

I think the optimism here that I have is you look at Europe, you know, Europe can build stuff way faster and way cheaper than us. They have a way more unionized labor force. And I think what I wish we had in America was, I wish we had large, you know, union bargaining deals in a sectoral way, the way many European countries do, and do this at a society way.

I wish we didn't have to jam all these requirements into legislation because we had actual societal solutions for it. But I think it's possible, you know, and the other thing Europe does is on a lot of these process questions, they empower their agencies to have more power to actually make decisions, right?

I wish we didn't have to jam all these requirements into legislation because we had actual societal solutions for it. But I think it's possible, you know, and the other thing Europe does is on a lot of these process questions, they empower their agencies to have more power to actually make decisions, right?

And sometimes we over-index on how much the process is getting in the way because what you see in a lot of cases is We add process, but stuff still gets built. You know, China, in the 1980s, when it was going through massive amounts of development, bringing in American companies, made those companies jump through all kinds of hoops.

And sometimes we over-index on how much the process is getting in the way because what you see in a lot of cases is We add process, but stuff still gets built. You know, China, in the 1980s, when it was going through massive amounts of development, bringing in American companies, made those companies jump through all kinds of hoops.